Originally posted by dkuo:To all the fans--I know you're tempted to post a defensive comment here but I want you to stop and ask yourself if this is how you want to spend your time.

On the internet. Defending Linkin Park. Really?

Note that you're also going to be publicly identifying yourself as a Linkin Park fan, and I'm pretty sure that data is collected in some sort of list you don't really want to be on.

I, am a Linkin Park fan.

I don't see why I have to be ashamed of that fact. Everyone's entitled to their own likes and dislikes; while I do find Linkin Park's lyricism less than stellar, it's adequate, and I feel that their instrumentation (particularly the electronic aspects in HT/Meteora) and the "sonic landscape" of their music more than makes up for it.

Quite frankly, though, your insinuation that Linkin Park fans have something to be ashamed of stinks. I'm sorry if you mean otherwise, but your post reeks of pretentiousness and musical elitism. Note, I'm not defending Linkin Park. If you don't like them, that's fine. Just don't start lumping the fan base into 1 group and proceed to insult their musical tastes.

If you're going to be a Linkin Park fan, you're going to get a lot of abuse from a lot of people. That is pretty much part of the deal. You might want to get used to it.

I'm not interested in telling you what music to listen to (and chances are if you're a Linkin Park fan, you're not want of people telling you what to think and like and wear)--but you can save yourself a lot of time if you realize this is abuse and not argument.

Yes you're entitled to like whoever you want, and yes, I'm entitled to berate the bejeezus out of you for it.

If you're going to be a Linkin Park fan, you're going to get a lot of abuse from a lot of people. That is pretty much part of the deal. You might want to get used to it.

I'm not interested in telling you what music to listen to (and chances are if you're a Linkin Park fan, you're not want of people telling you what to think and like and wear)--but you can save yourself a lot of time if you realize this is abuse and not argument.

Yes you're entitled to like whoever you want, and yes, I'm entitled to berate the bejeezus out of you for it.

Right, so your point is that declaring oneself a fan of Linkin Park, online, is asking for abuse.

Look, if someone were to make that declaration on /., I think it'd be asking for abuse. But on Ars, I expect more people to understand the point you clearly do, that people are entitled to their own musical likes and dislikes. Beyond that, I also expect people to refrain from berating the bejeezus out of others just because of differences in musical taste.

I mean, honestly, what grounds would you have for berating someone who's tastes are different from yours? Is that abuse, as you put it, even justified? It's something I'd expect from irreverent, immature individuals, something I certainly don't associate Ars with.

The point of this all is: there are parts of the internet that are equivalent to room 12. There are parts that aren't. Apologies if my expectations of Ars and it's community aren't realistic; I'll know better from now on.